Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Region I
Schools Division of Ilocos Sur

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LESSON TITLE:
SYNTHESIZING ESSENTIAL INFORMATION FROM VARIOUS
SOURCES

Name of Teacher-Writer: THOMAS R. SUMBAD

School: DILI NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

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This Self-Learning Kit in English 8 is a set of instructional materials designed to meet

your academic needs as learner. This also prepares you with the demands of the new type of
learning. This SLK is hereby designed for you to be equipped in synthesizing information
through identifying fact from opinion. This will help you as you go on reading information
from various sources. Activities are provided and composed with different types—multiple
choice, identification, graphs, and synthesis to make you familiarize in synthesizing through
identifying fact from opinion. Assessment is also provided to test your competency as learner
in meeting the learning objectives congruent with its learning competency.
Be reminded of the general directions as you use this designed material:
1. Handle this with care. Do not write or put unnecessary mark/s on any part.
2. Use your activity notebook in answering the exercises.
3. Always observe honesty and integrity in performing the tasks and checking
your answer.
4. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.

Your Most Essential Learning Competency (MELC) is to:

EN8WC –IIc-1.1.6: Synthesize essential information found in various
sources
At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:
1. define synthesis;
2. enumerate the different sources of information; and
3. synthesize essential information found in various sources

Before we discuss our new lesson, here is an activity

that will test your knowledge about the topic of this self-learning
kit.
Are you ready for the warm-up activity?

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Directions: Arrange the jumbled letters to come up with the different sources of
information.
1. enedicyclopa 5. government memoranda 9. news reortps
2. acdemica books 6. laws and leslatigions 10. documarieents
3. thsese 7. literary ciqurites 11. stimotenies
4. searrech studies 8. inwtervies 12. anotecdes

How did you find the activity? Is it easy? Very good! Your first
activity introduces you with the different sources of information.
Remember all of these for you will be encountering more of them
as you develop your skills in writing synthesis or in synthesizing
information from different sources.
Writing is one of the most important skills a student like you need to develop. To be
able to write effectively, one must develop sub-writing skills as paraphrasing, summarizing
language bridging and synthesizing.

The discussion of this SLK shall focus on synthesis. To synthesize means to put
together, connect or combine. When you synthesize, you follow the formula:

WHAT YOU WHAT YOU ARE MAKE NEW MEANING

+ =
KNOW LEARNING OF WHAT YOU READ

The formula above tells you that when you synthesize you make new meaning of
what you have read by putting together what you already know and the new knowledge
you have acquired based on what you have read.

A synthesis can form:

1. A new understanding, something a
reader has not considered before
until reading the text
2. A deeper understanding,
becoming more aware or
appreciative of an idea after
reading a text
3. A changed understanding, thinking
differently as a result of the text.
Mull Over
When you read and synthesize, you learn
additional information.
For example, Tim knew that Haikus belong to
Afro-Asian Literature. When he read the
article about Indian Literature, he also learned
new information, that is, Vedas also belong to
Afro-Asian Literature.
When you read and synthesize, you
understand things deeper. You also learn to
appreciate and love them.
For example, Tim knew that Haikus belong to
Afro-Asian Literature. When he read the
article about Indian Literature, he also
understood that Afro-Asian literature has a
wide coverage. He developed appreciation of
literature.
When you read and synthesize, you may
realize and change what you already know
about the topic.
For example, Tim knew that Haikus belong to
Afro-Asian Literature. He thought Haiku came

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 Source: Reading Comprehension
Strategy Series: How to Teach Students
to Synthesize While Reading. Classroom
Nook website. www.classroomnook.com.
Accessed July 18, 2020.
from Korea. However, when he read more
about Haiku, he learned that Haiku came from
Japan instead of Korea. Therefore, his
knowledge was changed. It can also be that
Tim found Haiku uninteresting, but after
reading more of Haikus, he realized that
Haikus are beautiful and are also interesting.

The table shows how synthesizing works.

 In this section you are going to write what you know about the
At first,
topic. This means you are going to list all of the information
I was thinking
that you know about the topic.

 In this section you are going to a new reading material.

When I was reading,
 Write the information that you learned from the reading
I was thinking
material.
 Put altogether what you previously think (schema or prior
knowledge) and the information you learned from the reading
My new thinking is material.
 You may answer the following questions: (1) Are the
information from the reading material similar with what I
know? (2) Are the information from the reading material
different with what I know? (3) Did the reading material add
information or support the knowledge I know before? (4) Did
the reading material changed what I already know and my
views about the things I know before?

Sy

Did you understand how to write a synthesis? Very good! For you to
fully understand its process. Read the example given.

Reading Text 1
Tim is tasked to read and synthesize his learnings on “The Analects of
Confucius.
● Tim started by writing first what he knows about the topic.
AT FIRST I WAS THINKING: Confucius is a Chinese Philospher. Confucius is his
only name. He and his disciples wrote the analects. Analects are collection of
sayings that teach moral values.

● Tim continued the task by reading the article below:

WHO WAS CONFUCIUS?
Confucius, also known as Kong Qui or Kung Fu-tzu, was a Chinese
philosopher, teacher and political figure. His teachings, preserved in the Analects,
focused on creating ethical models of family and public interaction and setting
educational standards. After his death, Confucius became the official imperial
philosophy of China, which was extremely influential during the Han, Tang and Song

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 Dynasties.
Source: Confucius Biography. The Biography.com website. March 4, 2020. Accessed
August 18, 2020. https://www.biography.com.scholar/confucius

WHEN I WAS READING, I WAS THINKING: Confucius has other names. He is not
only a Chinese philosopher but a teacher and political figure. The Analects also
teach about good values within as a family member, as a member of the society
and as a student.

● Tim wrote his synthesis:

MY NEW THINKING IS: I learned that Confucius has other names as Kong Qui or
Kung Fu-tzu. He is not only a philosopher but a teacher and political figure. His
Analects do not generally teach us good moral values. The Analects are specific;
there are analects that teach us how to live righteously and dea with other people in
the family , there are analects that teach us how to live as a conscientious member
of the society, and there are analects that teach us how to study well and how to
become a good student.

MULL OVER
In order to write the synthesis, Tim wrote first what he knows about the topic in
the At First, I Was Thinking section. He proceeded to read the article that his teacher
has given him. As he reads, he listed down new learnings under the When I Was
Reading, I Was Thinking section. Before he finally came up with his synthesis, he tried
to compare and contrast first his previous knowledge to the new knowledge learned
while he read. There are points which are the same and there are points which are
different. Tim then wrote a synthesis by combining and changing what he already knew
based on the new learnings and realizations he had after reading in the My New
Thinking section.

Did you understand our first example? Now, let us proceed with the second example.
Reading Text 1
Tim is tasked to read and synthesize his learnings about EVIL.
● Tim started by writing first what he knows about the topic.
AT FIRST I WAS THINKING: An evil thing is something which is not godly. It is a
sin that man should not do, like becoming disobedient, dishonest, lazy, greedy and
proud. When a man commit sins and do bad things, the evil succeeds.

● Tim continued the task by reading three reading texts or materials that the teacher
has given him.
Reading Text 1: ON THE THREE EVILS by U Nu (an excerpt)
Humanity has been led astray by three evils – greed, hatred and ignorance.
Whether we are Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Animists or Atheists, we
cannot escape the three inevitables: old age, disease, and death. Nobody can deny
that the five sense objects – pretty sight, delightful sound, fragrant smell, savory taste,
and nice touch – are only fleeting phenomena. They are neither lasting nor
permanent.

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 Reading Text 2
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing” – Edmund Burke

Reading Text 3 (an excerpt)

“Evil” people are those who are unable to emphatize with others. As a result,
their own needs and desires are of paramount importance. They are selfish, self
absorbed and narcissistic. In fact, other people only have value for them to the
extent that they can help them satisfy their own desires or be exploited… They can’t
sense other people’s emotions or suffering, can’t see the world from other people’s
perspectives, and so have no sense of their rights. Other human beings are objects
to them, which is what makes their brutality and cruelty possible.
Source: Steve Taylor Ph.D., The Real Meaning of ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’. Posted August 26,
2013. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-darkness/201308/the-real-meaning-
good-and-evil

WHEN I WAS READING, I WAS THINKING: Evil also includes ignorance. One
becomes evil not only by doing bad things but by allowing people to do bad things.
Evil also means to be selfish and let other suffer because of selfishness.

● Tim wrote his synthesis:

MY NEW THINKING IS: Now, I understood what evil truly means. Evil does not only
means doing bad things. To be evil is also to be ignorant on what is good and what
is right. If you see people doing bad things and you did not stop them, it also means
that you are doing evil things. I also realized that to be evil is to be selfish and
insensitive. Next time, I will be more compassionate about the feelings of other
people. If I see people doing bad things, I will do my best to stop them or remind
them that what they are doing is bad.

MULL OVER

In order to write the synthesis, Tim wrote first what he knows about the topic in
the At First, I Was Thinking section. Observe that in the second example, there are
three reading materials. Tim read all of them. He also wrote new learnings from the three
materials that he has read under When I Was Reading, I Was Thinking. How did Tim
come up with his synthesis? Simple. He compared and contrasted the three articles to
his previous knowledge. He asked himself few questions, as “Do the reading materials
have the same topic? Do they discuss the same theme? Are the information in the three
reading materials the same and different? What are the details and information that are
similar? Different? What have I learned or realized from what I read? Tim wrote all of the
answers to these questions and put them altogether to write a synthesis paragraph in
the My New Thinking is section.

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 Did you understand our lesson? Very good! This time, we are going
to check your understanding by answering the activities. Write your
answers in your activity notebook.

Activity 1. Write “True” if the statement is true and “False” if the statement is false.
1. Synthesizing means connecting ideas from various sources.
2. There are many sources of information as encyclopedia, news report, and history
books.
3. Synthesizing does not change the way one thinks.
4. When you synthesize you combine your previous knowledge to the new information
you read in books.
5. Synthesizing helps a reader to become more aware of the information around him.

Activity 2. Write five (5) things that you know about Viruses.

Activity 3. Read the paragraph. Then write a one –paragraph synthesis.

Virus Wars Antibodies Strike Back
Every day you breathe in over 100,000,000 viruses.
Antibodies help your immune system fight back.
Viruses are deadly. They kill twice as many people as cancer does – around 15
million people every year. Vaccines have saved many lives, but for most viruses there is
no cure. Understanding how viruses work and learning how the human immune system
deals with them is critical to finding new treatments.
What is a virus?
All viruses are very simple, they are made up of an outer shell of protein which
carries the virus’ DNA (or RNA) – the genetic code with the instructions for making new
copies of the virus. Some viruses have an extra layer around the shell, but that’s about it.
Despite being so simple there are many different types of virus that can cause diseases
from the common cold and flu to chicken pox and AIDS.M
Viruses are all around us – every day we each breathe in over 100,000,000! Most of
these are harmless, but some can make us sick. Viruses are tiny agents that invade the
cells of our bodies and hijack the microscopic machines inside our cells to produce
millions of copies of the virus, assembling a viral army which bursts out of the cell,
spreading the invasion through the body.
Viruses aren’t actually alive – they don’t grow or move themselves, or eat or use
energy, and they can’t reproduce on their own. This is why they must invade our cells – so
that they can take advantage of the complex machinery, nutrients and energy in our cells,
and force the cell to make millions of copies of the virus using the genetic blueprint carried
in the virus.
Fascinating facts about viruses
You are constantly exposed to viruses – in the air you breathe and things you touch
and water you drink.
Viruses can cause a huge range of diseases. From viruses that give you a cold to
viruses that quickly kill you (rhinovirus – common cold; flu; VZV – chicken pox; SARS;

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Ebola;)
During an infection viruses invade your cells in order to reproduce.
Each cell becomes a virus factory, which eventually bursts, releasing 10,000 new
viruses which can go on to infect other cells (adenovirus).
During an infection you may have several million viruses in every millilitre of your
blood.
The human body makes use of antibodies to fight disease. You have ~3x107 unique
antibodies.
The shape of the antibody determines what it can bind to. Because you have so
many different antibodies, almost any shape can be recognized.
After recognizing an invading virus, the cells (B-cells) that produce the individual
binding antibody are stimulated to divide.
Each antibody producing cell can produce 2000 antibody molecules per second.
After 4-7 days, antibody (IgG) is detectable in blood.
Antibodies bind to viruses, marking them as invaders so that white blood cells can
engulf and destroy them.
Until recently, antibodies were thought to protect on the outside of cells. TRIM21
binds to viruses on the inside of cells.
TRIM21 sends viruses to the cell’s recycling system (the proteasome) where the
virus is destroyed.
An antibody is 1,000 times smaller than a virus particle (adenovirus)
Two antibodies per virus are enough for TRIM21 to send the virus for destruction.
Understanding how TRIM21 and antibodies work may help scientists devise new
therapies for virus infection.
Source: Virus Wars – Antibodies Strike Back-
https://www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/viruswars/viruses.php. Accessed July 15, 2020

To synthesize is to form or create new learning by

combining your previous knowledge and the knowledge
learned after reading a material or text.

Synthesis change the way one thinks. It also adds

information in our knowledge bank. If you read a material or a
text, would you to change your idea or thoughts about things
immediately? Or are you going to read more materials or texts in
order to confirm your newfound information?

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GENERAL DIRECTIONS:
Copy and answer all the assessments in your activity notebook.

Assessment 1. List down 5 things that you know about “love”.

Assessment 2. Read the two reading materials and write new information that you learned
about love.
Reading Material 1
1 Corinthians 13
1
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding
gong or a clanging cymbal.
2
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all the mysteries and all knowledge, and I
have faith that can move mountains but have not love, I am nothing.
3
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love,
I gain nothing
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Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
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It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
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Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
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It always protects, always trusts, always hopes and perseveres.
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Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are
tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
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For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
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but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
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When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
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Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I
know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
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And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Reading Material 2
Essay on Love for Students and Children
500 + Words Essay on Love
Love is the most significant thing in human’s life. Each science and every single
literature masterwork will tell you about it. Humans are also social animals. We lived for
centuries with this way of life, we were depended on one another to tell us how our clothes
fit us, how our body is whether healthy or emaciated. All these we get the honest opinions
of those who love us, those who care for us and makes our happiness paramount.
What is Love?
Love is a set of emotions, behaviors, and beliefs with strong feelings of affection.
So, for example, a person might say he or she loves his or her dog, loves freedom, or
loves God. The concept of love may become an unimaginable thing and also it may
happen to each person in a particular way.
Love has a variety of feelings, emotions, and attitude. For someone love is more
than just being interested physically in another one, rather it is an emotional attachment.
We can say love is more of a feeling that a person feels for another person. Therefore, the
basic meaning of love is to feel more than liking towards someone.
Need of Love
We know that the desire to love and care for others is a hard-wired and deep-
hearted because the fulfillment of this wish increases the happiness level. Expressing love

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 for others benefits not just the recipient of affection, but also the person who delivers it.
The need to be loved can be considered as one of our most basic and fundamental
needs.
One of the forms that this need can take is contact comfort. It is the desire to be
held and touched. So there are many experiments showing that babies who are not
having contact comfort, especially during the first six months, grow up to be
psychologically damaged.
Significance of Love
Love is as critical for the mind and body of a human being as oxygen. Therefore,
the more connected you are, the healthier you will be physically as well as emotionally. It
is also true that the less love you have, the level of depression will be more in your life.
So, we can say that love is probably the best antidepressant.
It is also a fact that the most depressed people don’t love themselves and they do
not feel loved by others. They also become self-focused and hence making themselves
less attractive to others.
Society and Love
It is a scientific fact that society functions better when there is a certain sense of
community. Compassion and love are the glue for society. Hence without it, there is no
feeling of togetherness for further evolution and progress. Love, compassion, trust and
caring we can say that these are the building blocks of relationships and society.
Relationship and Love
A relationship is comprised of many things such as friendship, sexual attraction,
intellectual compatibility, and finally love. Love is the binding element that keeps a
relationship strong and solid. But how do you know if you are in love in true sense? Here
are some symptoms that the emotion you are feeling is healthy, life-enhancing love.
Love is the Greatest Wealth in Life
Love is the greatest wealth in life because we buy things we love for our happiness.
For example, we build our dream house and purchase a favorite car to attract love. Being
loved in a remote environment is a better experience than been hated even in the most
advanced environment.
Love or Money
Love should be given more importance than money as love is always everlasting.
Money is important to live, but having a true companion you can always trust should come
before that. If you love each other, you will both work hard to help each other live an
amazing life together.
Conclusion
Love has been a vital reason we do most things in our life. Before we could know
ourselves, we got showered by it from our close relatives like mothers, fathers, siblings,
etc. Thus love is a unique gift for shaping us and our life. Therefore, we can say that love
is a basic need of life. It plays a vital role in our life, society, and relation. It gives us energy
and motivation in a difficult time. Finally, we can say that it is greater than any other thing
in life.
Source: https://www.toppr.com/guides/essays/essay-on-love/, Accessed July 18, 2020

Assessment 3. Write a synthesis essay based on the materials you have read. Follow the
given format.
 First Paragraph: Introduce your topic. What is the topic of the essay?
 Second Paragraph: What do you know about the topic?
 Third Paragraph: What have you learned about the topic based on the reading
materials?
 Fourth Paragraph: Your synthesis (your new thinking)
 Fifth Paragraph: Write your conclusion.
Rubric
Content – 5 points

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 Grammar and Spelling – 5 points
Coherence and Organization – 5 points

http://literacycompanion.weebly.com/uploads/4/6/5/2/46526537/synthesis_go.pdf

https://www.graftonps.org/site/default.aspx?
PageType=3&ModuleInstanceID=1733&ViewID=C9E0416E-F0E7-4626-AA7B-
C14D59F72F85&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=953&PageID=937&Comments=true

Essay on Love for Students and Children. 500 + Words Essay on Love. Accessed
July 18, 2020. https://www.toppr.com/guides/essays/essay-on-love/

Steve Taylor Ph.D., The Real Meaning of ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’. Posted August 26, 2013.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-darkness/201308/the-real-
meaning-good-and-evil
Confucius Biography. The Biography.com website. March 4, 2020. Accessed August
18, 2020. https://www.biography.com.scholar/confucius

U Nu, On The Three Evils

Reading Comprehension Strategy Series: How to Teach Students to Synthesize

While Reading. Classroom Nook website. www.classroomnook.com. Accessed July
18, 2020.
Virus Wars – Antibodies Strike Back-
https://www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/viruswars/viruses.php. Accessed July 15, 2020

Activity 1.
1. True
2. True
3. False
4. True
5. True

Activity 2. Answers may vary

Activity 3. Answers may vary
Assessment 1. Answers may vary
Assessment 2. Answers may vary
Assessment 3. Please refer to the rubrics.

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